Wolves in the Haíɫzaqv Territory have been getting attention! It’s possible this may represent the first documented use of such tools in their species. On May 29, 2024, researchers captured video footage of these wolves pulling a submerged crab trap to shore, showcasing their ability to manipulate external objects for food acquisition. This behavior was recently recorded inside a national park or protected area, which challenges assumptions towards animals’ intelligence, adaptations, and anthropogenic environmental effects on behavior.
The way it all happened was truly remarkable. Within only three minutes, the wolves tugged on the trap and accessed the baited funnel within. The wolves first pulled the buoy ashore. First, they netted the fish with a circular net attached to a long rope. This extraordinary, unprecedented observation has created a stir among researchers who study animal behavior and tool use in particular.
Research and Observations
Kyle A. Artelle and his co-authors conducted the study to reveal what’s behind the pulling of crab traps within the Haíɫzaqv Nation’s territory. Their goal was to expose who’s been perpetrating this nefarious behavior. As part of those efforts, they placed remote cameras to document the behavior of the wolves. The incredible video documented how one wolf, or more likely a pack of wolves, learned to use a new strategy to seek out their prey. This approach has never been used in wild wolves.
Nearly a year later, a different video appeared on social media of a wolf dragging in a crab trap partially submerged. But this time, the wolf didn’t bite the buoy. Was this behavior a learned technique or simply an act of curiosity?
“Tool use is typically understood as using an external object to achieve a specific goal with intent—a definition argued to include even stick chewing by dogs.” – Kyle A. Artelle et al.
Implications of Protected Environment
The Haíɫzaqv Nation’s commitment to wildlife protection may significantly influence the wolves’ behavior. In this range, wolves are still under an extremely high amount of human persecution. Hunting and trapping are uncommon circumstances for them, particularly on a global scale. This diminished threat provides them with more political latitude. They are able to test out new behaviors that may not be seen in more at-risk groups.
Related research shows that a lowered degree of attentiveness can increase the self-assurance of these wolves. This newly-acquired confidence incites them to engage in behaviors that move beyond their simple survival tactics.
“For example, wolves in this area face relatively low levels of human persecution (e.g., hunting and trapping), which is rare globally.” – Kyle A. Artelle et al.
Tool Use Definitions and Debate
Whether this behavior should be classified as tool use is an ongoing debate among scientists. Definitions which require tool use to include a notion of intentionality and the causal manipulation of an object toward an external goal would claim otherwise. Yet, some fence-sitters claim that simply giving a pull is not enough. They think the animal needs to demonstrate it knows how to orient the object in order to reach a particular target.
Artelle and his collaborators highlight this contention by noting that “other definitions exclude rope pulling as a form of tool use, ‘because they are not responsible for the proper and effective orientation of the tool to the incentive,’ and that for this to qualify as tool use, ‘the animal must produce, not simply recognize, the proper and effective orientation between the tool and the incentive.’”
This current and ongoing debate brings to the fore the challenges in studying and determining intelligence and behavior in animals. As additional observations are accumulated, Shettleworth and others will have a clearer view of wolf behavior, and possibly their ability to use tools.